Residents Questioning Legitimacy Of Tax Collection Letters

Many Athens taxpayers are in disbelief after recently receiving a tax audit notice in the mail.

The notices have been sent to all Athens taxpayers but officials say only some of the residents are complaining.

The letters came from the Cleveland Collection Agency, in an effort to make sure taxpayers have been properly filing and paying their taxes.

City tax officials say they have received over 50 calls from residents within the last two weeks.

However most of the calls aren't complaints, they're inquiries.

"We have got a lot of phone calls. The majority of the phone calls are just to question the legitimacy of the program. People want to make sure it's on the up-and-up; no one wants to provide their federal tax information or any social security numbers and stuff like that until they have verified that this is a legit program," said Tina Timberman, city income tax administrator.

Timberman says that if residents have any additional questions they are urged to call the Athens City Income Tax Department at 740-592-3337.